The Righteous, The Brave, and The Restless: The Experiences of Neil "Piffles" Taylor, his Fellow Canadian Pilots, and Prisoners-of-War in the First World War

The experiences of Canadian airmen who served in the British flying services during the First World War have received a very focused treatment from historians. The wartime letters and diary of Saskatchewan veteran Neil Taylor, who served in the Royal Flying Corps, allow for a more complete appreciation of the nature of those experiences. Taylor’s writings, considered in relation to a variety of other primary and secondary sources, illuminate the experiences of Canadian and British Empire pilots and servicemen in the key areas of: motivation and training, active service, and life as a prisoner-of-war. Taylor's correspondence illustrates that pilots' motivations for choosing the flying services were complex, ranging from peer pressure and religious idealism to a desire to avoid the dangers of service in the trenches. In the area of active service, Taylor's letters highlight the limitations of past historiography concerning the pilot experience. The fighter pilot experience of being in the air has overshadowed the facts that the majority of pilots were responsible for reconnaissance and artillery spotting, and they spent more of their time on the ground than they did flying missions. Finally, these letters further exemplify that the Canadian and British Empire pilot experience of being a prisoner-ofwar has remained muted in the historiography due to the shame associated with being captured and incarcerated by the enemy. Keywords: Aviation; First World War; Great War; Military History; Royal Flying Corps; Royal Air Force; Canadian History; Saskatchewan History; Pilots; Royal Canadian Air Force, Prisoner-of-War, POW.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

History

Grantor dc:publisher

Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Hodgson, Stephen Paul

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Germani, Ian

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Leyton-Brown, Ken
• Blake, Raymond

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

https://doi.org/10.82465/4255

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uregina.scholaris.ca:10294/8418